Tiny Smiles
by Antay
Summary: Sixteen years after the most important person in his life entered his world Remy goes on a search. And maybe he'll finally find the answers to some of the questions he was too afraid to ask. Ororo's life has been a downward spiral but she's finally gotten it together and come into her own. He's looking for her but she doesn't want to be found. Dark Angst. Language. Sex. Drug Use.
1. Prologue

Tiny Smiles

Prologue

Sun light illuminated the vast daisy colored kitchen causing it to seem brighter and cheerier than usual. It was a beautiful July morning. The heat index hadn't reached its peak but it had burned away the humidity of the burgeoning New Orleans summer morning.

Remy sat at the kitchen table staring down into his "World's Best Dad" mug of black coffee. The second cup of the much-dreaded morning. He hadn't slept well for the past month and none at all the previous night. He'd need the coffee but a shot of whiskey would probably better serve his anxiety.

Today was a long day in the coming. Not long enough though. He'd dreaded it for the last few years. Now it was upon him and there was no more running away from his past…from what he'd done.

"Dad?" Remy sighed as he looked up into the deep blue eyes of his daughter. She was a beautiful girl he mused. She looked so much like her mother. The mother she didn't know. The mother he promised he would tell her about on her sixteenth birthday. Today. "Today's my birthday. You said you'd tell me today."

"Sadie, I…" he started then trailed off. His heart began to pound rapidly against his ribcage and his skin heated underneath the cool cotton of his starched and pressed button up shirt. Remy rubbed a cool hand over the back of his neck for relief. He was nervous…afraid. What would his baby girl think of him?

Sadie spoke again when he didn't. "You promised."

"I know, chere, but this isn't easy."

"Just spit it out."

Silence once again enveloped the kitchen. Remy's eyes once again found his coffee an interesting distraction. He couldn't look at her. He was a shame. What he needed to say to his daughter couldn't be just "spit out." It needed to be explained. His daughter needed to understand that he was young. That he'd made a mistake.

"Okay, Dad. How about I ask you some questions and you answer. Okay?"

Remy lifted his eyes back to hers. She didn't give him time to answer.

"Okay," Sadie breathe then immediately found herself at a loss. She had so many questions she didn't know where to begin. She'd waited for this day for so long. Her heart drummed so fast and her frantic brain made it hard to decide which question to ask first. She started with the easiest. "What's her name?"

"Ororo…Ororo Munroe," Remy answered daring too look at Sadie once again. He watched as her lips moved silently mimicking him, weighing the feel or the name on her lips.

"That's a…a beautiful name," she said shakily. Her voice was full of an indescribable emotion upon hearing her mother's name for the first time.

"She was beautiful," Remy whispered.

"Did you love her?" Sadie asked with a slight smile alit her face. She was hoping for a fairy tale. For a story of two lovers torn apart by circumstances outside of their control. Romeo and Juliet.

Remy briefly contemplated lying. A lie would make everything so much easier. But he wasn't a liar. That's not something he did…not to a stranger and most definitely not to his daughter. "I don't know."

"Oh," she breathed, slightly deflated. "She was your girlfriend?" Remy shook his head. "Then how?"

The words hung between them. Expectantly. Judgmentally.

Remy looked squarely at his wide-eyed daughter and exhaled…

* * *

_Remy along with his best friend, Scott Summers strolled down the corridor. Classmates moved instinctively from their path, making room for the alphas…The Somebodies. Even garbed in the school's required ensemble they managed to stand out. Their crisp buttoned up shirts were whiter, the tack of their red and blue striped ties shone brighter, navy slacks and school crest embroidered blazers wore like expensive couture against lean masculine bodies._

_They were sons of prominence and influence: Remy coming from very old money from centuries ago. Before America was America, the LeBeau name held deep political and historical ties from the early settlements of French Canada, to the local lore of New Orleans' back alleys, and on to the marbled halls of Washington D.C. Scott on the other hand came from a long line of men of industry that stayed well ahead of any market they chose to endeavor, amassing a fortune so large it would not run out for generations. Their families held binding ties almost a century old. And it was expected for Remy and Scott to continue the legacies their forefathers began._

_The pair was more than just part of the_ It_ Crowd. They were _The_ Crowd. Everyone else grabbed on where they could and hung on tight. Trying their best to experience and imitate the air of confidence and supremacy the two exuded. _

_Anna-Marie fell in step with the boys as they passed. Their long strides didn't slow but she made sure to get in step. Keeping up as if her life depended on it. It sort of did. With them she was somebody. She had an identity, a reputation, even if it was a bad one. Anna-Marie was always available at their beck and call. Anytime. Anywhere. Anything. Though the girls of the school whispered behind her back when Remy, Scott or both bothered to approach them they didn't turn them down._

_Scott's steps slowed and in turn so did Remy's and Anna-Marie's. He'd spied Jean. A sophomore. A gushing gullible sophomore with fiery red hair she'd flip flirtatiously and green eyes she used to steal glances at him. She nudged her friend as the trio approached. The two girls turned, Jean giving them her full attention. The other barely raising her head finding the books in her arms pressed to her body more interesting._

_Remy raised his arm and casually laid it around Anna-Marie's shoulders. Not in an affectionate gesture. She was like a piece of furniture to lounge on as he waited. She wrapped her free arm around his waist content with this nearness. She took what she could get._

"_It's Jean, right?" Scott asked._

"_Hey Scott," Jean responded around a face splitting grin. _

"_Hey," he said, as he looked her over deciding once and for all if he should bother. She hadn't filled out all the way, that much he could tell through her bulky uniform. It was a shame the knee length skirts weren't shorter. _

"_Come to my house tomorrow night. I'm having a party," Scott said._

_From next to Jean, Reine listened. She'd never been invited anywhere. Not by someone who wasn't forced by a parent or teacher to invite her anyway. Her dark skin, pigment less hair, and strange blue eyes made her an outcast. A freak. A weirdo. Mostly a target._

"_Bring your friend too," she heard Scott say. She pulled her eyes away from her books and looked at Remy. Heat rose immediately to her face and the sound of her pounding heart drowned out the words Jean was saying in response. That happened every time she looked at Remy. _

_He was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen that wasn't on television or in a magazine. Unlike most of the boys at school he kept his dark auburn hair meticulously groomed, tapered above the ears, parted on the side and held in place with pomade. He shaved. Clean and close without marring his smooth sun kissed skin. Reine had wondered on many occasions what did he looked like as a young child. Nothing about his features said he'd ever been anything other than breathtakingly handsome. He had a strong jawline, a straight Grecian nose with a delicate tip. His full lips dipped down in the corners. _

_When she dared to look she'd never not once seen a smile. Always stoic…bored with everything and everyone in his presence. But his eyes were always expressive. They always looked as if he was calculating the mysteries of the universe. Like he could see beyond reality. He didn't just look, he observed. And currently he was observing her. Dark pools of deep water were trained on her. On the surface subtle hints of movement, curiosity perhaps…but beneath that lurked the unknown._

"_Reine?" Jean nudged her, never taking her eyes from Scott's grinning face. "Sounds like fun, huh?"_

"_Um…yeah," Reine said as she looked briefly at Jean then back to Remy. She was almost startled. His expression had changed…barely. He looked almost…pleased, only a slight lift to the corner of his mouth as an indicator. The tiniest hint of a smile._


	2. Chapter 1

AN: No Beta...as usual.

* * *

Tiny Smiles

Chapter One

_Cars lined the paved street of the private road. Music and peals of feminine laughter emanated from the grand opened door of the grand sprawling estate. _

_Reine and Jean hesitated as they entered the long path towards the entrance. Jean was nervous. Nervous she wouldn't have the opportunity to talk to Scott. There would be a lot of other girls, competition, vying for his attention. She was hell bent on getting his attention and keeping it._

_Reine however was nervous for a totally different reason. She'd lied to her grandmother. She'd taken advantage of her grandmother's advanced age and inability to verify her whereabouts. She'd said she had to work the closing shift of her job at the neighborhood corner store. After she'd cooked dinner and made sure her grandmother had everything she needed for the night, for the second time that day she'd boarded two busses to take her to the opposite side of town. Reine calculated that she would only be able to stay for two hours, and that was pushing it if she wanted to get home by 12:30._

"_Now or never," Jean said. _

"_I vote for never. I shouldn't have come…"_

"_Don't you dare chicken out on me now, Reine Meriwether! I'll hate you for the rest of my life if you do," Jean said through clenched teeth. "Besides," she said, her tone changing to saccharine sweet. "We'll stay together," grabbing Reine by the arm and dragging her towards the entrance. "We were personally invited. It's not like we're just showing up."_

_The two girls eased their way around a group blocking the entryway. Though they were eyed warily the teens didn't stop their conversation. Once inside Reine marveled at the vastness. The foyer could have easily encased half of her grandmother's home._

_She scanned the room for a place to hide. Which shouldn't have been a difficult feat due to the enormity of the house. But there seemed to be people everywhere. Some she recognized from school but most she did not. They probably attended the public schools in the area._

"_Look Reine. There's Scott. I'm going to go talk to him." Two steps towards her destination Jean stopped. Someone had beaten her to him. The girl had her arms thrown around Scott's neck. "Damn it." _

_Fifteen minutes later Reine found herself sitting on a couch nursing a tangy alcoholic concoction Jean had handed to her. The taste was horrific, however Jean had downed a cup like it was water and was working on her second. Jean was perched on the arm of the chair next to her, in prime viewing vantage of Scott._

_Reine only slightly surprised by the way Jean was acting. She'd only known Jean for a little over a year bit it only took a handful of conversations to realize she was a bit boy crazy. If the guy was cute then Jean was in love. Any male attention would send her into a hysterical bought of delusions. Maybe because her pale freckled skin, bone straight red hair and braced smile wasn't the traditional idea of feminine beauty. Something Reine could relate to. Jean had been called ugly on a daily basis for as long as she could remember, starting with her mother and ending with the kids at school. Ugly was all Jean saw too…the flaws that were readily pointed out. But the fact that Scott Summers, someone Jean considered to be the epitome of perfection, knew her name made her feel good, really good._

_Glancing down at her watch, Reine sighed. If Jean weren't her friend, her only friend, she would have never came. The noise was almost unbearable to Reine's ears. She was use to quiet. Both she and her grandmother preferred reading to watching television. And while at school she preferred the solace of the library during lunch or any other time she wasn't in class._

_Jean suddenly stood tearing Reine away from her musings. Scott was standing in front of Jean talking into her ear. Her head nodded enthusiastically at everything Scott said before she walked away with him. _

What the...? _ Reine had half a mind to leave. So much for not leaving her by herself. Reine watched as Jean and Scott exited the room through a pair of French doors. "Great," Reine grumbled to herself. Now she looked like even more of an idiot sitting on the couch by herself. Lord forbid if someone sat next to the _freak_. A couple moved when she'd initially sat down. She was use to it._

_As soon as that thought crossed her mind a body crashed next to her, spilling a portion of the contents of the red plastic cup as it did so. "Oops, sorry!" a blond girl who obviously had too much to drink wiped at the spilled liquid on Reine skirt clad legs._

"_It's okay. It's fine," Reine said trying to stop the girl's hands from pawing at her._

"_Hey! I know you! We went to junior high together!" Reine looked at the girl trying to recognize her. No one came to her. "You always wore the same dirty clothes every day," the girl laughed. "Are you still poor?"_

_Reine didn't have to recognize her for her to bring back memories. Memories of the ridiculing and taunting she'd endured. If it wasn't how she looked it was how she dressed…or rather how she didn't dress. Her grandmother couldn't afford much more than to pay bills and buy food with the money she received from social security and food stamps. Reine's mother had run off to New York a couple of years after she was born. N'Dare sent money twice a year…birthday and Christmas. And usually it was only enough to replace worn pieces of under garments or a pair of shoes._

_This was why Reine was skeptical of going to such a prestigious private school on scholarship she'd earned. She didn't know how much of the taunting she'd be able to take from people who probably didn't know which president was on the one-dollar bill. Fortunately, the uniforms made her just the same as everyone else…for the most part. Even though, it still seemed everyone knew she was the poor charity case. Maybe it was because she was one of the very few dark faces in a sea of white. Or maybe it was because her Mary Jane's weren't as shiny as the other girls'. _

_Reine didn't have to answer the girl's question. Apparently being drunk made for short attention spans. The girl curled up on the opposite end of the couch and appeared to be sleeping. _How can she sleep with all of this noise?

* * *

_Jean had been gone at least thirty minutes and somehow the crowd had grown considerably thicker and louder. Reine was ready to leave, with her friend or without her. Fighting her way through the crowd she exited the doors she saw Jean and Scott disappear through. _

_There were people outside, mostly couples lounging on the outdoor furniture. It was hard to see who was who even with the two post lamps lighting the garden. Reine walked by each but didn't see her friend. _Where could she be?

_Maybe Jean had passed her and she'd missed her. Reine turned to go back inside and almost walked directly into Remy's chest. "Oh," she said startled then quickly regrouped. "Sorry." Remy gave her a curt nod then stepped aside to allow her access to the path. Reine began to walk then stopped and faced him, "Have you seen my friend Jean? We were invited yesterday…by Scott," she stammered in case he didn't remember who they were. "She was with Scott but now I can't find them," she trailed off and looked away. It was so difficult to look at him. She felt foolish talking to him._

"_Follow me," Remy ordered and began walking through a path that wandered through the grounds. Reine obeyed and about fifty yards later they stood outside a small cottage…a guesthouse. Reine peered through the door after Remy opened it. Her eyes widened and her hands flew went to her mouth to muffle the gasp that was on the verge of escaping. The sounds of Jean's moans assaulted her ears and the sight of her and Scott's naked flesh filled her vision. As Reine stepped back from the threshold her eyes finally landed on Anna-Marie's smirking face sitting in the corner. Their eyes locked for a brief second before Remy closed the door. "She seems to be busy," Remy said as he looked down at her._

_Still looking at the now closed door Reine was speechless. She couldn't wrap her head around what she'd just seen. Jean…Scott…Anna-Marie… Reine blinked slowly and looked at Remy. "What…" her words died. _

"_What does it look like? They're having a good time." _

_Reine turned and made her way back up the path not knowing quite else what to do. Jean was a virgin. Or so she'd always said she was. She had always said she wanted to wait until she was married. The scene played back in her head. Why was Anna-Marie there? What were they doing?_

"_Where are you going?"_

_Reine startled. She hadn't realized Remy was behind her. "Home," Reine said as she rounded the corner of the house, making her way to the front yard._

"_I'll take you," Remy gripped her elbow and began to steer her across the topiary decorated lawn towards the street and his car. He opened the door and waited for her to slide into his shiny convertible Saab. _

"_Um…you don't have to leave the party. I can catch the bus." His inconvenience was only part of her hesitance. The foremost of her issues was being in such close perimeters with Remy. She was scared to death of him, any boy really but him especially. He didn't act like regular teenage boys. He was leagues above her. He made her feel like an adolescent. Which wasn't something she was use to. Most people said she seemed older than her sixteen years of age._

_Reine shifted her weight back and forth on her feet waiting…to be dismissed. She watched him as his head tilted slightly regarding her. "What's your name?" he asked._

"_Reine."_

"_Reine what?" He seemed a bit annoyed._

"_Reine Meriwether," she said feeling even more like a child in response to his silent chiding. _

"_Reine Meriwether, get in." She did as she was told. He closed the car door after she'd settled. She struggled to keep her eyes focused forward and not watch him round the back of the car. He slid in and started the engine. He didn't look at her but she stole glances at him. She couldn't believe she was sitting in Remy LeBeau's car. He was taking her home. He had bothered to talk to her._

_Reine thought it strange he didn't ask her which way to turn when he'd reached the stop sign at the end of the street but he made the correct choice anyway. Did he know where she lived? The unasked question was answered when he made another turn that led them in the opposite direction of where she lived._

"_You're going the wrong way," she said. He didn't answer. He only glanced at her briefly before training his eyes back on the road ahead. She didn't recognize her surroundings and with each turn and road they crossed panic built in her stomach. He was driving away from the city. Not getting into cars with strangers was a basic rule taught to children. And even though she knew Remy's name he was still a stranger nonetheless._

_Remy took a curve and turned onto a long narrow road. The Saabs headlights cut through the pitch black of the wooded area. Finally he stopped when the trees thinned and the meadow opened. Reine looked around as he pressed a button and the top of the convertible slowly receded to reveal an illuminated night sky. She'd never seen so many stars in her life. They seemed to be piled one on top of the other._

_Reine stared up at the brilliant sky then turned to him brandished a smile to rival it. All of the nervousness that had her stomach tied up in knots dissolved. "This is beautiful," she breathed then looked back to the sky._

_Her head snapped back towards him when she felt his fingers wrap around her wrist. Then the unexpected happened. His lips were on hers. Reine's eyes stretched in surprise. His tongue pushed its way inside her mouth and he took the kiss. Reine put her hands between them and pushed him away but could only manage by a few inches. He was still close enough for her to feel his breath on her lips. And for a brief moment she was scared. _

_What seemed to be anger in place of his usual stoic expression was at second glance a look of confusion. His brows dipped and his lips folded into a hard thin line. Then the look slowly softened and he leaned towards her again. This time he kissed her tenderly. The hand that once gripped her wrist lifted to her face, cradling it like she was a delicate flower. His thumb stroked the apple of her cheek and she melted. Relaxing into the buttery leather of the seat. Everything and everyone residing outside of that car disappeared. Only she and Remy remained. Beautiful Remy LeBeau was kissing ugly, poor old her in his expensive car underneath a blanket of stars. If she died right then she'd die happy._

* * *

_Remy entered his home through a side door. After only a couple of steps in he could hear his father's bellowing voice. He was yelling at his mother again. Absently, he wondered what had set Jean-Luc off this time. He was sure it was something simple. Maybe his mother hadn't noticed the housekeeper had set the table wrong._

_They were in the sitting room. Remy blew out a breath and braced himself as he rounded the corner to stand in the entryway. He saw his mother sitting in a wing-armed chair, head bowed slightly, taking her tongue lashing. Her head lifted slightly and she looked at him and quickly looked back to her lap. _

_Jean-Luc stood over her, finger pointing accusingly at her, "I swear to God in heaven, Martha, you make it your lot in life to embarrass my family name."_

_Remy almost rolled his eyes. The only real concern his father had in his life was maintaining the LeBeau name. No shame could be brought upon it. It held a primary place in his father's mind. The LeBeau name, then money, followed closely by his own needs, sometimes God almighty would find a place pending on who he was talking to and finally his family._

_Remy relished the idea of not being under his father's roof anymore. Soon. He was in his last year of high school then he'd be off to college. He'd go to university far, far away like his older brother had. Although Remy didn't think Claude had too much of a choice. Once his older brother who was attending Louisiana State University at the time told their father he was gay Jean-Luc almost disowned him. Something about dishonoring the family name… That was three years ago. Claude didn't even come home for Christmas anymore. Remy missed his brother._

_Unable to listen to his mother being berated he turned and exited as quietly as he had come. She deserved the treatment. She was foolish and accepted her role with a blind eye, willing to carry on the façade of being the perfect society lady. But she was no different than most women. He'd learned they could be bought and sold to whoever was the highest bidder and not even realize it. He'd seen enough of Jean-Luc's mistresses to know they only cared about shiny trinkets and golden baubles. _

_He saw it every day in the halls of his school. Girls pining away over both him and Scott? Why? Because they came from old money and lots of it. There was nothing overly special about them in comparison with the other males their age. The little red head proved that tonight. Stupid. The way she pined over Scott was nauseating. But her friend, Reine. He'd known her name since that first day even though he pretended not to. Somehow he felt like she'd have the upper hand had she known he'd found out about her. He had too…she intrigued him…everything about her from her odd features to her meekness._

_He'd noticed her the moment she'd set foot in the school almost three years ago. At first he'd just assumed she was a daughter of any other well to do family that sent their child to the elite private school. But after a while of observing her he realized she wasn't like the other girls at his school. She wasn't a snob to everyone. While being vapid sixteen year olds already getting breast implants and nose jobs. She was there on scholarship. That could only mean she was smart. But tonight she was dumb enough to let him kiss her._

* * *

_The weekend seemed to have dragged by. Usually it was a speedy two days filled with working at the store, church and taking care of her grandmother. She couldn't wait for Monday to come so she could see Remy. Would he talk to her? Or take her to, what she now thought of as their special place? She silently chided herself for being overly romantic about what had happened but her heart swelled with hope that it was._

_Reine dabbed her lips with a small amount of petroleum jelly. She didn't have lipstick or lip gloss so it would have to do. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She thought she looked older, more mature. She'd experienced a milestone…a sort of coming of age event. _

_ She and Remy didn't stay parked in the car long but the minutes they'd spent there was the most exhilarating experience of her life. She'd never had anyone look at her the way he had, like he saw who she really was and not just a shy, strange looking, poverty stricken girl. He made her feel…worthy._

_ "Reine, baby!" her grandmother called from the front room. "I left my bible in my bedroom. Can you get it for me?"_

_ "Yes, ma'am," she said entering her grandmother's room and easily finding the bible on the nightstand next to the bed. Reine also grabbed the tabloid magazines her grandmother was so fund of._

_ "Here you go, Granny. Anything else before I leave?" _

_ Her grandmother took her hand as she gave her the books. "You're such a sweet girl and I thank God for you every day."_

_ "Oh Granny, I love you too," Reine said as she bent down and kissed her._

_ As soon as Reine stepped off the bus she saw Jean's bright red hair bounding towards her, weaving through the students and other pedestrians. She was sure if her skin tone were even a shade lighter her face would be bright red with embarrassment. She never thought she'd find Jean with Scott and Anna-Marie. Reine just couldn't wrap her head around what they were doing. _

_ "Hey Reine!" Jean said using her usual perky tone. Nothing as far as she was concerned had changed. But to Reine everything had changed. She didn't know what to do with this new information about her friend._

_ "Hey," Reine returned the greeting as she began to walk towards the school, Jean next to her._

_ "Why'd you leave me the other night? I had to walk home by myself," Jean said. _

_Reine was taken aback by Jean's accusation. "I didn't leave you. I went looking for you and…" Reine's voice trailed off when she looked at Jean's wide-eyed expression, "I couldn't find you," she finished. Reine noted Jean's small sigh of relief._

"_Oh yeah…sorry about that. Scott and I got to talking and I just lost track of the time. We're a couple now! Can you believe it?" Reine could only assume they were a couple after what she'd seen. "I mean…I'm going on with the one and only Scott Summers!" Jean said excitedly as they stopped at their lockers. Reine busied herself with turning the combination of the dial. "Oh my god," Jean said. "Here he comes."_

_Reine's eye slid away from her task to where Jean was looking down the corridor. Remy and Scott walked side by side. Scott as usual was greeting fellow classmates and giving and receiving high fives. Remy on the other hand kept his usual indifferent demeanor as they moved through the throng of students._

_Jean's grin grew wider as the boys approached. "Hey Scott!" she called out once they finally reached her. And to both Jean's and Reine's dismay Scott didn't even acknowledge her presence. He didn't even look in the girl's direction. Remy on the other hand spared a subtle glance. And in that glance he acknowledged her and the moment they'd shared in his car. It wasn't a lot and Reine wasn't expecting too much but it was something...more than Scott had given to Jean._

_Reine watched the smile fade from Jean's face. "I don't think he heard me," Jean mumbled, disappointment evident in her voice as she watched the back of Scott saunter down the rest of the hallway and turn a corner._

"_Yeah, it's pretty noisy. He probably didn't see you either," Reine lied. There was no way he didn't see Jean. Jean with her fiery red hair and her with her pigmentless tresses were hard to overlook. _

_She could only imagine how humiliated Jean would be if she knew that she'd seen what she'd done. Jean was the only person she had besides her grandmother, even if the friendship was a one-sided it was better than nothing. Reine finished exchanging her books from her locker and closed it. "I'm sure he'll talk to you later once everything settles down."_

"_Yeah…" she heard Jean mumble. "I'll see you later, Reine," then she was gone without even a backwards glance. Reine watched her go._

* * *

_Reine stared out the window of the bus reflecting on the days that had passed. The school week slowly came to an end. Jean watched Scott walk by her everyday without so much as a hello. She'd finally gotten the message after the second attempt of trying to get his attention. But Reine did see the lopsided smirks Anna-Marie would cast Jean's way; she'd been used and discarded. She hadn't uttered a word about Scott to Reine and Reine decided to keep it that way. The conversation would be embarrassing for both of them. _

_Reine's heart ached for her friend. It was obvious that Jean thought there would be a relationship. She couldn't blame her for thinking that way. Deep down she hoped the same for her and Remy. However, Reine wasn't delusional. There was no way possible Remy would want anymore to do with her than Scott had to do with Jean._

_Reine's stop came into view. Once she was close enough she reached over and pressed the "stop" button to notify the driver that she'd need to get off. She had twenty minutes to walk the two blocks to her next bus stop before the second bus she had to take came. Reine began to walk and out of the corner of her eye she saw a car slow next to her. Her heart sped up and her stomach flipped when she realized it was Remy. She slowed her steps but kept walking. She didn't want to assume he was there for her but she couldn't think of any other reasons why else he would be on that street, so far out away from the nice houses and shops on the other side of town._

_She stopped and turned towards the vehicle when she heard him say, "Reine Meriwether." He leaned over and peered at her through the opening of the rolled down passenger side window. "Get in." Even though all she wanted to do was be with him again, she hesitated to think about how it wasn't a good idea to go with him. She still didn't know him. And she actually did have to work that night and didn't have time to diddle. _

"_I can't," she said. "I have to get home then go to my job." _

_She watched him as he processed her words before he finally spoke, "I'll only keep you for a minute."_

_Reine bit her lip and struggled with the decision of what to do for less than a couple of seconds before she opened the car door and slid in. Remy drove a few yards then turned into a small parking lot. He didn't turn the ignition to the "off" position but he did put the car in park and pull up the emergency brake._

_ Reine sat waiting with her head slightly bowed looking at the books that rest in her lap. She felt his eye on her and she dared a glance. He had that look again…confusion, like he was trying to sort something out. His hand lifted and touched the long braid of her ponytail. She watched out of the corner of her eye as his long index finger brushed over the texture of her hair. His hand slid up to the back of her neck and his other hand went to her cheek and turned her head towards him. He stared at her not moving. Searching her face from her blue eyes to her perky button nose down to the fullness of her lips. "You are…" he said, his words trailing off._

_ "I'm what?" Reine asked in a shaky breathy voice._

_ "Beautiful," he said. That word then his lips on hers took her by surprise. She settled into his gentle but persistent kisses. He reluctantly pulled back and moved his hands away placing them on the steering wheel. "I won't keep you."_

_ Reine wanted to say something. She wanted to ask him what he was doing. Why was he seeking her out? But didn't. Instead she adjusted her books and opened the car door. She was about to get out when she heard him speak. "Tomorrow. What are you doing tomorrow?"_

_ "I have work all afternoon tomorrow. I won't be able to get away," she said answering a question he didn't even ask. He nodded then looked forward. _

_Reine exited the car and walked out of the parking lot. She dared a glance behind her when she heard his cars engine rev and leave the parking lot going in the opposite direction. She took deep breaths in and out trying her best to calm her flustered nerves. She didn't know what was going on but she liked it. She liked it a lot. She liked the way he looked at her. In the light of day she could she his dark eyes shining with bemusement and awe when he looked at her._

_She smiled to herself and quickened her pace._


	3. Chapter 2

Tiny Smiles

Chapter Two

_Reine had always been a pleasant person but most of the day her customers and even her supervisor commented on how chipper and giddy she seemed. One guessed it was probably a boy. She decided to tone it down then. She didn't want anyone to start making assumptions. The old and even not so old ladies as well as the men loved to gossip and she didn't want to be fodder for their entertainment. _

_ "Reine, clean up your area then you can leave," Mr. Murray said. "Thanks again for staying a bit longer. I can't count on anyone these days. People beg for jobs then when you give it to them they only bother to show up when it's convenient for them. This will be the last time." _

_Reine realized he was no longer talking to her but venting to himself as he ambled off. She didn't mind staying longer. She'd just started a couple of weeks ago and so far she liked the job. She liked being paid and earning money. She'd be able to help her grandmother, maybe buy her a nice dress as a birthday present next month._

_ She tossed the trash she'd collected and finished putting cans of food that had been placed willy-nilly about the store back in their proper places. She grabbed her small purse from its hiding spot and dipped inside the employee bathroom. Earlier when there was no customers and Mr. Murray was in the back she'd paid for a small vial of cheap lip gloss. She knew she was supposed to have someone else to check her out but she didn't want to call any attention to her purchase. Reine looked into the mirror and dotted the subtle color on her lips then blended it in. She gave herself a hesitant smile and grimaced at her protruding canine. Just another imperfection in her already flawed appearance. She wondered if Remy had seen it. She wondered if he was blind. _He thinks I'm beautiful.

_ Remy was the first person other than her grandmother to say so. Most people focused on what made her odd. Or asked what ethnicity she was. But the most embarrassing question was always, "What does your parents look like?" She'd only seen N'Dare a handful of times, the last time two years ago for two days. Her mother had taken the bus from New York down to New Orleans for Thanksgiving. The hours N'Dare spent on the bus far exceeded the time she'd spent with her family. The hours would have been almost the same had she not decided to spend the first night on the town revisiting old friends and their old bar haunts on Bourbon Street._

_ And as far as what her father looked like…anyone's guess was as good as hers. Not even her grandmother had an idea who he was. Reine remembered when she was about four or five years old noticing an old man with snow white hair like her own and asking her grandmother if he was her father. He wasn't and neither were the next man or the one after that. Soon she stopped asking and __became comfortable__ with the fact she didn't know and probably would never find out._

_ Reine let out a sigh and pushed the thoughts away. It made no sense to fret over things that were out of her control. She left the bathroom then the front of the store telling Mr. Murray goodbye and that she'd see him after church tomorrow. She wasn't in any hurry to get home. Her grandmother usually spent Saturdays at the church cooking for the Sunday potlucks and socializing with the other elders. Usually the pastor would drive most of the ladies home so they didn't have to walk or have someone come to get them. That was the least he could do in return for their time and energy._

* * *

_ The silver convertible Saab was parked across the street from her grandmother's little house. She wasn't surprised that Remy knew where she lived; he'd dropped her off the night of the party. But she was surprised that he was even there. It was still daylight and she couldn't have her neighbors seeing her get into a car with a boy, a white boy at that. It would be a scandal._

_ Reine continued her walk as if she didn't see the car. She opened the gate to her yard and was about to go in when she heard Remy call her name. She turned and shook her head briefly trying to warn him off. He took no heed to her gesture. Instead he opened his car door and got out. Reine's eyes stretched wide when she realized he was about to cross the street. She quickly turned towards him and said, "Go down to the corner and make a right. Five minutes…five minutes," she nodded hoping he understood her clipped cryptic words. _

_ Remy nodded and got back into his car. Reine watched as he started it and pulled onto the street. She let out a breath of relief when he made the right turn at the corner. _

_ "Reine?" she heard the next door neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, call from her front door. "What did that man want?" Reine turned and smiled. She'd known Mrs. Johnson her whole life and her grandmother had known her two times as long as that. She'd be the first to tell her grandmother and everyone else on the block if she suspected Remy was there to see Reine._

_ "Nothing, ma'am," she lied. "Just wanted some directions on how to find the interstate."_

_ Mrs. Johnson looked at her satisfied with the answer and nodded. The access to the interstate was a few blocks over and if a person wasn't paying attention the road leading to it could be easily missed. "Okay, baby. But you know not to talk to these strange men. That car had been sitting there so long I was about to call the police. People are snatching people off the streets now. I don't know what this world is coming to. People act like they don't have any sense these days!" she ranted._

_ "I know, Mrs. Johnson. And I won't," Reine said as she made her way to her front door. Mrs. Johnson watched Reine until she unlocked her door and went inside before going inside herself. "Dang it!" Reine spat. The houses were only a few feet apart and Mrs. Johnson would be at the door in a second if Reine went back out. But Remy was waiting._

_ Fifteen agonizing minutes later she heard a car pull up outside. It was Mrs. Johnson's son and her two grandsons. "Yes!" Reine almost did a fist pump. Mrs. Johnson doted on her boys and would be too preoccupied to pay any attention to what Reine was doing. She eased out the door and locked it. She briskly walked out of the gate and down the sidewalk._

_ Reine let out a sigh of relief when she saw Remy's car still there. She walked up to it with a wide grin on her face. He didn't have to tell her to get in this time. She opened the door and slid in knowing that's what he wanted her to do. As she settled her bashfulness set in and her smile faded. She let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry. Neighbors." _

_He nodded understanding what she meant. "It's okay," he said then silence hung between them until he spoke again. "How long can you stay?"_

_Reine looked at the clock on the dash. "A few hours."_

"_Good," he said and graced her with a tiny smile then started the car and maneuvered them through the weekend traffic._

_This time they drove farther than the last time but she didn't ask him where they were going. She trusted that he would have her back home at the appropriate time. After getting off the main road and a few more turns they ended up in Fountainebleau Park on __Lake Pontchartrain. Reine had never been there before and it was a far cry from the park in her neighborhood or even the nicer ones in the tourist parts of New Orleans. This was full of families picnicking with small children running around. It looked like something out of a movie…perhaps a romantic movie. _

_Remy opened the top on the car. Warm sunlight made goose bumps pop up on Reine's previously air conditioned skin. She rubbed them away but left her arms folded across her chest unconsciously protecting herself from Remy's penetrating eyes._

"_Why are you wearing that?" he asked._

_Reine looked down at her clothes. A simple cotton baby blue short-sleeved shirt and a knee length denim skirt. They didn't look bad. They were clean. "I wore this to work. Is something wrong with it?" she asked. Her eyes darted over to him. His ensemble of a white polo shirt paired with khakis and Sperry shoes was simple but she was sure they probably cost more than her whole wardrobe._

"_Not that," he said. "Your lips." Reine's face heated and she folded her lips inward. She'd forgotten she'd put on the lip gloss. "If you did that for me…don't. I don't like it."_

"_Oh…I thought I'd try something new," she said. Her knee jerked when he reached towards the glove compartment in front of her. He ignored her reaction and opened it, retrieving a packet of travel size facial tissue. Reine watched him pull one out and turn towards her. He used it to wipe away the fading remnants of the gloss staining her lips. His face was slightly contorted in a look of concentration as he went about his task._

"_There," he said with a look of approval when he'd finished. Reine couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips. He returned it then leaned forward and kissed her softly. He rested his forehead on hers and breathed in her air. "I like the taste of your lips. Don't cover them up," then kissed her again._

_Reine squeezed her knees together and gripped the hem of her skirt in her hands to keep a shiver of excitement at bay. This was all too much. So unexpected. If she ever got the courage she'd ask him Why? Why her?_

"_Come. Let's walk," he said. _

"_Okay," she mumbled. _

_They walked side by side in silence. She stole glances at him. His eyes were trained ahead, eyes focused on the pier overhanging the lake. He stopped suddenly and she stopped too. She watched him as he bent and began picking up small pebbles. She stooped and did the same. Once their hands were full they finished the short trek to the edge of the pier. She followed his lead in placing the small stones in a pile. When they were finished they sat. Him with his shoes and socks at his side and his legs dangling over the edge and her with her legs curled beneath her while bracing her self on one arm. She didn't take off the white canvas slip-ons she'd worn to work. Compared to his feet hers looked like they'd been mangled. Too many years of wearing ill-fitting shoes had crooked her toes. Not even the prettiest shade of polish would make her want to don a pair of sandals or flip-flops._

_But his pale feet amused Reine. She wanted to ask him if he got pedicures but decided against it. Instead she closed her eyes and enjoyed the subtle breeze blowing against her face. She listened to the soft plops of the pebbles Remy threw hit the still water. She opened her eyes when she heard him speak, "You don't talk much." He threw another pebble._

"_No," she answered simply as she watched the pebble sail over the water then plunge into its depths._

"_Me neither."_

"_Why?" she asked. _

"_Because no one actually listens. They'd prefer to hear themselves talk."_

"_Yeah," she said on a sigh. Another moment of silence passed._

"_I like your voice though. It's low and silky," his eyes darted towards her. "I like to listen to you talk."_

_Reine flustered. "I never know what to say," she said then picked up one of the stones and flicked it off the pier in an effort of distraction. It skipped twice over the water before sinking. Remy looked at her and smiled, showing his perfect set of white straight teeth. _

_Reine laughed. "I've never done that before. Even when I tried."_

_He decided at that moment he liked the sound of her laugh too…more than any other sound he'd ever heard. "You do a lot of things without trying."_

"_Like what?" she ventured to ask, really wanting to hear him compliment her._

_He shrugged then leaned back on his hands. His smile gone. "You demand my attention even though I don't want to give it to you."_

_She didn't expect that response. "Oh," she said and picked up another pebble. She didn't throw it this time, just rolled it between her thumb and forefinger. "Is that bad?" she asked looking over at him._

_He nodded. "For both of us."_

"_Yeah, I know," she said then threw the pebble she was holding._

* * *

_ Just as the sun began to set Remy parked in the same spot where he'd picked up Reine. For what seemed like the hundredth time in the last couple of hours he leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. Yes, she was very bad for him and him for her but he couldn't help himself. Her full lips enticed him, lured him in to the sweetest nectar he'd ever tasted. Her shy smiles and expressive eyes intrigued him. Her natural scent made him want to literally sink his teeth into her flesh but he settled for tender kisses along her neck. And each time he did she'd whimper surprised little sighs and he'd kiss her more to hear them again and again._

_ "Remy, I have to go."_

_ "You do," he said and kissed her again feeling her smile against his lips. "I wish I could keep you. You make me…happy." He pulled away from her and waited for her response._

_ Her expression was one of bemusement. "I haven't done anything."_

_ "You don't have to. Just…being you is enough, ma belle." Remy watched Reine's eyes slightly widened. "Why do my words always surprise you?"_

_ "Because the things you say…no one has ever said those things to me before."_

_ "You should hear someone tell you how beautiful you are every day." _

_ Reine tried hard to contain the grin that sprouted on her face but she couldn't. And for the first time to reached over and pulled Remy to her and kissed him quickly on the lips. A second later she was gone._

_ Remy sighed as he watched her walk away through his rearview mirror. He knew she should be running. He was only going to break her heart._

* * *

_Even though the library was relatively empty Jean was glad Remy was sitting in a secluded area. She sat next to him and waited for him to acknowledge her. He didn't. Just turned the page of the text he was reading. _

"_Remy," she said in a hushed whisper. "Can you please tell Scott to call me?"_

"_No," he said, eyes never wavering from the words on the page._

"_Please. I need to talk to him," she begged._

"_He's not going to talk to you, girl. Not until he wants you to spread your legs for him again." For a fraction of a second Jean's already pale face managed an ashen ghostly appearance before a blush stained her cheeks. Remy looked up at her and almost felt bad for his harshness but she needed to hear it. "Scott is a selfish bastard. He doesn't care about you, only what he wants. He wanted your virginity and you gave it to him. What made him look at you twice is now gone. He doesn't want you anymore." A tear formed then fell from Jean's eyes. Remy hesitated before he continued. "Forget about Scott. He's already forgotten about you." Jean stifled the sob tearing at her throat. "Next time look beyond looks and status and you won't find yourself heartbroken and pining after egotistical jerks." _

_Jean stood, eyes downcast, too ashamed to look at him. She nodded then walked briskly away and out the library doors._

_Remy exhaled then tried to focus on the words in his book. He couldn't. The things he'd said to Jean, he should say to Reine. That he was a selfish bastard and no good would come of anything between them. That he would taint her and make her into someone he'd eventually want nothing to do with. He was no better than Scott. He'd done the same to plenty of girls; he'd planned to do the same with Reine that first night he'd taken her to the meadow. But she surprised him. It wasn't him that had grabbed and kept her attention but the night sky. For the first time it wasn't him that was the center of some foolish female's admiration. He was convinced that she would have stared up at the stars for hours without giving him a second glance. The look of joy she wore on her face from the simplest thing roused a feeling deep within him. One he'd forgotten existed. Naivety. _

_Remy had lost his a long time ago. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was just like his father…cold with no real feelings or respect for anyone. Especially women. Both his mother and father had made sure of that. Martha used to be a blazing beauty that had her choice of any man she'd wanted. But she chose his father because of his status and he'd made her pay for it every day. He'd worn her down, tamed her and stolen her light with his philandering domineering ways._

_He didn't want Reine to know that side of him…how he truly was on the inside. Just like his father. She deserved more. Someone who didn't have to keep her a secret and wasn't afraid of ruining his families reputation. The precious LeBeau name would be tarnished if his father knew his son was fraternizing with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. The fact that she was black, or colored as Jean-Luc liked to say would just be the cherry on top. And it wasn't lost on him that he wasn't exactly the person anyone in her neighborhood would like to see on her arm._

_Since their time at __Fountainebleau Park__ they'd gone about a skewed up version of a relationship. More of a relationship either of them had ever had. Pretending like they didn't see the other when others where around while taking advantage of stolen moments and the cover of night. With each meeting they had become more comfortable with each other. He discovered she had an easy smile and an even easier blush. Every not and then she would catch him off guard with her wit. He found himself thinking of her during the day and dreaming of blue eyes and of flowing white hair at night._

_He sighed and closed the book. What they were doing had to stop._


	4. Chapter 3

Tiny Smiles

Chapter Three

Ororo blew out a heavy breath. She looked at her alarm clock, 5:45. There would be no point in lying in bed for another fifteen minutes until the alarm sounded; she'd already had a restless night of tossing and turning. Sitting up in her bed she ran her hands roughly over the almost flawless skin of her face; she knew it was going to be a rough day. It was every year. She contemplated staying home but knew she couldn't. Too many people were depending on her.

After a long hot shower she went through the motions of her morning routine: a cup of black coffee, a bowl of cereal, brushing of teeth, doing of hair and finally applying lotion and clothes to her body. And even though she didn't feel like it, she made her face as pretty as she could despite its flaw. Usually she wore lipstick but today she decided to wear lip gloss. It reminded her of _him_ and of _her_…her daughter, Sadie.

Ororo blew out a slow breath in an effort to keep her emotions in check. Today would be her daughter's Sweet Sixteen. She'd be a woman soon and Ororo had missed her whole life except for twelve hours. Twelve hours to nurse her child, to hold her and name her. In those twelve hours she loved her more than anything else in this world. She still did. She missed her but it was too late…too late to insert her fucked up self into Sadie's perfect life.

She'd seen her little girl's pictures on her MyFace account. In each picture Sadie LeBeau smiled brightly, laughed with friends, and made pouty faces into the camera. She was beautiful. Too perfect and beautiful to have to know of what a mess her mother used to be. So Ororo admired and loved her from afar through social media and memories of those twelve short hours before she'd been taken away.

* * *

_Remy walked through the school halls one by one surreptitiously searching for the only person he ever looked forward to seeing. It had been days…almost a solid week since he'd last laid eyes on Reine. He'd driven, multiple times, by her house and the store where she said she worked and hadn't even caught a glimpse. Every day ended with him thinking not seeing her was for the best. Then he'd wake the next day with hopes of seeing her and wondering where she could be. But not knowing was beginning to irk him and he'd started to take his ire out on others. Scott, the most self-absorbed person other than his father, had even asked him what was wrong. Apparently he was being a bigger prick than usual._

_On more than one occasion he was tempted to ask Jean about Reine's whereabouts but resisted. He'd sound just as pathetic as she did that day in the library when she begged him to have Scott talk to her. He wasn't pathetic and he had his pride. He had to remember Reine was just another female; one of many that had and would pass through his life. Nevertheless, he wondered if she was safe._

* * *

_Reine sat alone on the front steps of her home. The only home she'd ever known and tomorrow she would be leaving it. Leaving everything she knew…the city she'd grown up in and the school that she'd come to love. All because the only person that ever loved her was now gone. _

_Reine wiped at the tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Her grandmother's body was too old and tired to fight against the attack that stopped her heart. Even though she was told there was nothing she could have done she still wished she were a lighter sleeper. Maybe she would have heard something so she could have at least been by her grandmother's side when her soul left this earth. _

_Reine stifled the sob threatening to escape her throat. She didn't want anyone to hear her cry. If one more person asked her how she was doing she thought she'd scream. And as if on cue Mrs. Johnson walked out of her house, down her walkway and into her gate. "Reine, baby, how are you?"_

_Reine sighed. "I'm fine, Mrs. Johnson."_

_"Well you know your grandmother loved you." Reine nodded. "But you know I'm going to miss you but you'll be fine with your aunty." Mrs. Johnson bent down and hugged Reine's head to her bosom. "Make sure you come back to see me now." _

_After Reine nodded Mrs. Johnson let her go and went inside with the twenty or so other neighbors and family that had shown up with their casseroles and baked goods. Reine just wanted to be alone, away from them and their memories and laughter. She wanted to be sad. She wanted to miss her grandmother without everyone trying to make her feel better. She didn't want to feel better. _

_She wished she could be with Remy and just…be. He would allow her that. And as if her thought conjured him his silver car appeared in front of her house. Fresh tears sprung to her eyes as she leapt out of her chair and ran down the few steps, down the path and to his car. She slid in and told him to drive. He didn't ask her what was wrong or where she wanted to go. He only did as he was told._

_Remy gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened and worked hard to keep his temper in check. Her heart wrenching sobs angered him and he'd never felt that way before. His responding emotions caught him by surprise but he welcomed it. Whoever it was that had dared to make her cry was going to pay. After several minutes of driving and listening to her cry into her hands he couldn't take any more. He decided on a destination and was there within another few minutes. When he finally stopped the car and killed the engine he turned to her and grabbed her shoulders turning her towards him. "Reine! What's happened? Who's hurt you, ma cherie?" She shook her head but the tears still didn't stop. Remy pulled her to him wrapping his arms around her. "Shh…" he said over and over again trying to quiet her. "Reine, please…I can't help you if you don't stop crying." _

_Reine pushed him away and lifted her palms to her eyes, as she took deep cleansing breaths. Between clipped sobs she spoke, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…"_

_"Reine, why are you crying? Tell me who's hurt you?" he asked happy that she was finally talking._

_"No one. No one at all. My granny," she said and had to stop when another sob choked her words. "My granny's gone. She passed away."_

_Remy sat back in his seat and stared at her. All of his fight was gone. He wanted to protect her but how was he supposed to protect her from death? "I'm sorry. He said what he thought he was supposed to say. Then focused on replacing the barricade around himself that he'd let her tears momentarily breach._

_Another five minutes passed before Reine spoke again, "I'm sorry," she laughed and sniffled at the same time. "I didn't mean to…" She really didn't. She hadn't cried with such abandon since she couldn't wake her grandmother the morning she found her in bed._

_He cut her off. "It's okay."_

_She sighed. "I'm moving tomorrow."_

_"Oh," Remy said silently cursing her ability to affect him. Her words seemed to jerk his emotions around with whiplash speed. "To New York with your mother?" He made sure to keep his tone even; no disappointment was evident in his question even though it churned in the pit of his stomach._

_"No… Alabama with my aunty. My momma didn't even come down for the funeral. Said it was too short of notice." Reine scoffed. "Like death gives a notice."_

_Remy nodded. He understood. People aren't dependable that's why he didn't depend on them. If you're of no use to them then they don't go out of their way for you. In this case Reine's grandmother was no use to anyone, not anymore. Now she was just a memory. And soon for him, Reine too._

_"So…this is it," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, all traces of tears gone. Gone was the sobbing mess and in its place was seriousness he'd never seen marring her exquisite face. Even though he thought the sudden change in her demeanor was odd he was glad. He wasn't comfortable with her vulnerability. _

_"I like you, Remy," she said. He nodded his acknowledgement and waited. "And I'm going to miss you."_

_His brows furrowed as he contemplated a possible response. "I…I like you too," he admitted to her and to himself. He liked her company, her shy sweetness, and the way her dimples emerged even when she tried to hide her smile. Most of all he loved the taste of her lips and he'd be damned if he didn't admit that he thought of her more than he should. But he needed to focus on his idiocentricity…he'd lived eighteen years without her and had only had her acquaintance for barely a month. He wouldn't even remember her in another eighteen years he reasoned. With each rational thought he repaired the mortar of his wall she'd managed to chip loose. After tonight she would no longer be a thought._

_"I should take you back," he said training his eyes forward as he reached to turn the ignition._

_"I don't want to go back. Not now. Not until I have to." She watched Remy's fingers linger near the keys for a few seconds before he dropped his hand to his leg. "We're at the meadow," she stated finally taking in her surroundings. "Can you lower the top, please?" she asked already looking out her side window trying to take in the night sky._

_Once the buzz of the receding top finally stopped, songs of the night creatures and Reine's awestruck sighs were the only sounds for miles. _

_"It's beautiful out here," Reine said up into the blanket of twinkling stars before turning to Remy. "Thank you for bringing me here."_

_Remy wanted to tell her it was because he knew she liked the spot. And that was precisely why he hadn't brought her back since the night of Scott's party. It was the place he normally brought girls he planned on having his wicked way with. However Reine had managed to change his intent. Even though he'd brought other girls to this spot since, he always thought of Reine when he was here. The way her face lit up when she gazed at the night sky. The other girls had never noticed. They were only interested in getting undressed or trying to impress him in some other physical way._

_"Remy?" Reine said tearing him away from his thoughts. "I know you don't…we don't do this…but will you please just…hold me?"_

_He paused a brief moment contemplating if it was a good idea. He already had strong feelings for this girl. Feelings he wished he didn't. And holding her against him was something he knew would further destruct the wall he'd built around himself. And even though his brain was screaming at him not to he opened his arms inviting her into them. He watched as she slid towards him, careful not to hit the gearshift fixed to the floor. His body stiffened with anxiety as he felt her body relax against him. He'd never held anyone like this, so intimately, before. He forced himself to relax and wrapped his arms around her and for the first time he felt a sense of unadulterated peace…a sense of not just being wanted but needed._

_Remy kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tightly when he felt the wetness of her silent tears soak through the fabric of his shirt and warm his skin. Damn…her tears would do him in. "Reine, look at me." He waited until her watery blue eyes had focused on his before realizing he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to make her feel better. He could tell her everything would be fine but he didn't know that for sure. So instead he lifted her chin and kissed her, pouring everything into the kiss that he thought she needed. Everything he thought he needed. Tonight would be the last time he'd taste her delectable lips and he wanted to remember how they felt._

_Remy reluctantly broke the kiss. Her soft mewls and subtle movements in his lap combined with such a passionate kiss had stirred an urge in him he struggled to keep at bay when he was with her. She knew what she'd done to him. Her eyes asked a question she'd never verbally utter. The request was perfectly clear when she wiggled her hips against him. "Please don't. You're not ready for this," he said gripping her waist to still her motion. "You don't know what you're doing."_

_"Yes I am and Yes I do," Reine said. Then for the first time of their many times together she tentatively initiated a kiss. _

_One of Remy's hands lowered to her hip squeezing it as he fought against his body's reaction to her. A bout he wouldn't win if she didn't stop. He turned his head away. "Reine, I won't stop you again," he warned._

_Reine looked away from him and up at the night sky. This was her last night in New Orleans. The last night of existence as she knew it. The last thing she had left of value was her time with Remy. If he wanted to accept it or not he provided her with what she knew would be the last vestiges of happiness. She didn't know if she'd ever feel it again so she'd take all she could in the last hours of her time with him._

_In a series of deliberate moves she sat straddle him, sandwiched between his hard body and the steering wheel. Her hands on either side of his face, she found his lips with hers in a searing kiss that stole his breath. No, there'd be no turning back._

* * *

_Someone was downstairs but Remy didn't bother with an inquiry. He had to finish packing. He'd be leaving for San Diego in a few days. For the first time in a long while happiness was more than just a surface emotion. He was actually excited to be leaving home. He'd chosen to attend San Diego State University, much to his father's dismay, but it was near his brother who resided not too far away in La Jolla with his boyfriend. From the pictures Claude had sent San Diego was beautiful and Remy looked forward to a fresh start._

_The thoughts had caused a slight smile to grace his face, which was instantly wiped away when he heard the bellowing of his father calling his name. "What the fuck?" Remy mumbled. He knew whatever it was his father had to bark about was trivial trite thought up solely to agitate him in his last days under the LeBeau roof. He contemplated ignoring him but another call this time louder and saturated with rage piqued his curiosity._

_Remy dropped the t-shirt he'd been holding and walked out of his room and stood at the top of the stairs. Jean-Luc stood at the bottom in the foyer, his face red and his jowls trembling. Something had happened and whatever it was by the look in his father's eyes it wasn't good. Remy began his descent down the stairs never breaking eye contact with his father. With each step he searched his memory for what he could have possibly done to upset his the old man so._

_Almost to the bottom of the steps he saw his mother. She was peering out the lace curtain of the front door window. Remy found it curious but she often did curious things with no real explanation. Then he noticed the other person in the room, an African-American woman. Remy's brows creased. His father usually didn't have any guests of color, especially ones that entered through the front door. The woman looked Remy up and down and pursed her lips. The look on her face was one of disdain and judgment. He didn't know this woman and felt no way about her but she obviously had a strong opinion of him._

_"Remy," Jean-Luc said. "Do you know this woman?"_

_Before Remy could answer the woman sneered at his father. "Naw, he don't know me. I already told you that. But he know who my niece is," she said and looked back at Remy. Her lips twisted when she saw the confused look on his face. "Ororo...Ororo Merriwether." Remy slowly began to shake his head not recognizing the name._

_Jean-Luc visually relaxed. "Mrs. Sinclair, I told you. Your niece must be mistaken."_

_She ignored him, her eyes still trained on Remy. "Damn, how many black girls you been screwing?"_

_Remy's heart began to pound wildly in his chest. There'd been only one. But that was a long time ago…months. "Reine…" he said mostly to himself as he remembered her after forcing himself to forget her and their time together._

_"Oh yeah, Reine, that's my niece. See," she said to Jean-Luc "we do have some matters to discuss."_

_Jean-Luc's face fell. "Damn it, Remy! What have you done? This woman," Jean-Luc's voice shook with barely subdued anger "says you got her niece pregnant. I told her she must be mistaken." The last statement sounded like a threat to Remy's ears._

_"Pregnant?" Remy's head began to spin as the heaviness of the word and it's meaning began to absorb. He gripped the banister to keep his balance. "Is she okay?" he asked ignoring his father. _

_ "No, she ain't okay," Mrs. Sinclair snapped. "The girl almost died. Doctor said she probably won't be able to have no more babies. That's a good thing, I guess. But like I said," she switched her attention back to Jean-Luc, "there's a hospital bill to pay for. Gas money for me having to drive over here and back from Alabama and reimbursement for the stuff I had to buy."_

_Remy felt lightheaded. Reine had almost died in childbirth and if she had it would have been his fault. Guilt began to overwhelm him. He knew he should have left her alone but once again his selfishness had taken over. He knew she wasn't ready. That she deserved someone so much better than him…someone who she loved and someone capable of loving her back._

_Mrs. Sinclair walked past him and his father. His mother, who'd been all but forgotten, moved out of her way as she opened and exited the front door. Soft frail cries lofted through the open doorway. In seconds she stood in the entry with a tiny pink swaddled bundle and handed it to Mrs. LeBeau. _

_His mother's face contorted with awe as she peered down into the pink blanket she cradled. "Remy," she said never looking up, "she looks so much like you did."_

_"Shut up, Martha!" Jean-Luc shouted. A startled cry from the infant filled the room after the outburst. He turned and faced Mrs. Sinclair. "Look here, girl! It's obvious you're after money but you won't get it here! You take that thing," he said pointing at the wailing child, "and get the hell out of my house._

_Mrs. Sinclair lifted her chin. "I ain't going anywhere without my money. I know who you are, Mr. LeBeau. And I know the LeBeau name and family history as being big shit…from your granddaddy's plantations to your daddy's support of segregation ways as mayor. I got a lot of friends, they know a lot of people, and imagine if word got back to your fancy white friends that you got a half black grandbaby."_

_Jean-Luc's face trembled with fury. "There's no proof that my son fathered your slut niece's bastard child."_

_Remy had been staring dumbfound at the now settling bundle in his mother's arms until his father's demoralizing words against Reine and the baby broke his revelry. "It's mine."_

_Jean-Luc's anger turned on him. "You don't know!"_

_"I do. It's mine," Remy reaffirmed. _

_"I want a hundred-thousand," Mrs. Sinclair blurted upon Remy's confirmation. Excitement raised her previously composed tone. _

_Jean-Luc huffed. He didn't know whom to address first, Mrs. Sinclair and her preposterous demand or Remy with his equally preposterous admission. He could deal with Remy later. Mrs. Sinclair wanted money now. "You won't get a red cent out of me. Take that baby and get the hell out of here."_

_"Fine, I can take the baby and have it tested. I'll send you the proof and you better believe it's going to cost you more than a hundred grand to keep my mouth shut. Or I can leave it here, take the money and you'll never hear from me again." She waited a moment for Jean-Luc to respond when he didn't she walked to Mrs. LeBeau and began to pull the baby from her arms._

_"Wait a minute," Jean-Luc said as he pulled a long, thin leather booklet from his inside coat pocket along with a pen. Remy could have sworn he saw Reine's aunt's whole body relax in relief. She didn't want to take the baby with her just as much as his father didn't want her to leave it. Jean-Luc turned and placed the checkbook on the side marble table and began scribbling in angry hard strokes. This she-devil had him over a barrel and he couldn't take any chances. He tore the check out and shoved it towards Mrs. Sinclair. "Don't darken my doorsteps again," he hissed._

_Jean-Luc's words didn't faze her. She took the check and looked at it and smiled a satisfied grin at what she read. "I'll send you the birth certificate when it comes in the mail," she said as she made her way to the door. _

_"Where is she?" Remy asked as he walked towards Reine's aunt before she could exit. "Where is Reine?"_

_She shrugged. "Somewhere between Alabama and New York. She can't live with me bringing babies into my house. I have my own kids to worry about. Her momma can deal with that." Then she was gone. Remy took his mother's previous spot peering out of the lace curtain. He watched as Mrs. Sinclair grabbed the carrier his daughter had been in and walked briskly to her car. He noticed a bit of a skip in her step…a hundred thousand dollar skip._

_The three stood in awkward silence. Mrs. LeBeau, who seemed oblivious to what had just occurred, kept her focus trained on the baby, rocking her gently. Remy stared down at the polished wood floor as the information began to sink in that he'd gotten Reine pregnant and he was a father. Mr. LeBeau, looked tight face and sickened reeling over the events of the last ten minutes. He turned and looked at his wife, "We'll get rid of it." _

_Mrs. LeBeau's head snapped up. Her eyes stretched in indignation. She looked as if she was going to speak but instead she looked back down at the child and let out a defeated sigh. Remy knew the look on his mother's face. The look she always gave when she surrendered to his father's demands. _

_He strolled over to her, "She's mine. Give her to me." _

_"You heard your father."_

_"I heard him," he snapped at her. Disgust evident in his voice. She'd never stood up to Jean-Luc for her own children. He knew damn well she wouldn't for his. He took the fragile parcel from her. He'd never held a baby before but he mimicked the way he saw the two ladies hold her. He turned his back to his mother as he removed the thin receiving blanket away from the baby's head and looked down into the sweetest face he'd ever seen. The tension in his jaw relented. His eyes softened as vulnerability unexpectedly overtook his body. This tiny soul was brand new. He didn't know anything about babies but he knew this one was just born. And even in her brand new features he saw himself and Reine. Soft locs, shades lighter than his dark auburn hair, covered her head and alert blue eyes that rivaled only those of her mother's. "I'm changing my flight. I'm leaving tonight and I'm taking her with me."_

_"You'll do no such thing, boy!" Jean-Luc barked. "I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going give it up and not tell a soul about it."_

_"No," Remy said through gritted teeth._

_Jean-Luc looked at him with surprise evident on his face. No one defied him in his own house. "One son being an embarrassment is enough. I won't let you blemish our name too."_

_"This is my child," conviction radiated from Remy's voice._

_"You don't know whose child that is. That colored girl probably doesn't know who the child's father is. You were just the best one to blame and she's a hundred thousand dollars fucking richer for it!"_

_Remy shook his head. "I won't defend her to you." Remy's voice was becoming just as elevated as his father's and the baby in his arms let it be known that she didn't like it. Jean-Luc's voice became white noise as Remy focused on the tiny face in front of him, shushing her gently. In all of the chaos he managed a smile when his daughter calmed._

_"If you leave, don't come back," he heard his father say. _

_"I never intended to."_


	5. Chapter 4

Tiny Smiles

Chapter Four

A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter has been written for a while...but I delayed on posting because this story is just kinda getting away from me. But I'm going to keep pushing through and hopefully I can keep to my original vision.

* * *

_Remy locked his bedroom door. He could hear his father's rapid footfalls on the stairs. Jean-Luc wasn't finished talking but he had nothing else to say to the old man. Anything his father had to say he could say to the distorted knotty faces of the oak door. When the footsteps halted the banging began. Remy ignored the noise. Instead he pushed the scattered pile of clothes on his bed aside and lay his daughter down._

_He stared down at her. What was he supposed to do with a baby? He'd never thought of children let alone the thought of having any of his own. But here she was… growing more and more agitated by the second. He pulled the receiving blanket away from her and found her dressed only in a tiny soft pink t-shirt and a saturated diaper. Reine's aunt left no bag. He wasn't a genius when it came to taking care of an infant but he did know she needed diapers and bottles of food. _

_Her face reddened before a shrill shriek filled the room startling him. Remy quickly wrapped her back up as best he could. His mother would help him regardless of what his father said. He pressed his daughter to his chest and went to retrieve his mother. As soon as he opened the door Jean-Luc's furious face as well as his hands assaulted him. Remy stumbled awkwardly backwards. The shock of his father's hands around his throat was of secondary concern to the safety of the baby._

_Remy fell backwards onto his bed and with as much care as he could muster in respect to the situation he laid the child on the bed. Within seconds, Remy had disengaged his father's clawing fingers and pushed him with all the might he could muster to send the man sailing to the other side of the bedroom. The highboy shook from the impact of Jean-Luc's back crashing into it. Remy fell back but kept his balance with one hand on the bed holding his weight and the other nursing his bruised neck. He gasps to catch his breath but didn't have long to recover. His father lunged at him again but this time Remy wouldn't be caught by surprise. He outmatched his father's attack with youth and agility. He'd never hit his father before but the sound of his howling child brought out an animalistic nature in him he'd never felt before. _

_He grabbed Jean-Luc by the lapel of his shirt and slammed his fist into his face as hard as he could. He drew his hand back for another blow when he saw the blood begin to spill from his father's split lip. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"_

"_I'll kill you," Jean-Luc spat. "I'll kill you, boy." Remy tossed him back and watched him as he fell backwards once again against the highboy. _

"_You'll have to if you ever put your hands on me again." _

_Remy heard his mother's shocked gasp when she entered the room; he didn't need to see her to know she wore a look of horror. "Remy! What have you done?" she screamed running past her son to her husband's side. Jean-Luc slapped her hands away when she tried to get a better look at his wound._

"_Ask your husband," Remy sneered in response. He turned away zipping the suitcase he'd been packing closed. He lifted it then the still wailing baby off the bed. "I need your help, Mother. She needs some things. I don't know what to…"_

"_You won't give that bastard baby my name," Jean-Luc interrupted as he struggled to get up from the floor. "I'll disown you. You won't get any of the LeBeau money…for you or your lil __picininy," he__ finished as he stood. "Did you hear me, boy?" Jean-Luc bellowed. He took steps toward Remy but his wife held his arm._

"_Mother," Remy ignored his father, "I need your help."_

"_Don't. You. Move, Martha," Jean-Luc pinned Remy with a cold hateful stare. His mother did as instructed and didn't move…not even to breath it seemed._

_Remy wondered what hold his father had over his mother that made her so weak. Could it be love? Does love do that to a person? "For once in your life..." his frustration nearly got the best of him; he felt his throat tighten with barely restrained emotion. He took a deep breath in an effort to regain the little shred of composure he had left after his scuffle with Jean-Luc. "I don't know what I'm doing." _

_Martha's eyes darted briefly to the fretting baby. When she looked back into Remy's eyes he saw the desire to help just not the will. He snorted in disgust then turned and left the room and the house._

* * *

_Remy thought once he'd gotten the baby asleep he'd finally be able to get some rest too. Even though he was deliriously tired sleep was the last thing his active mind wanted to do. The last twenty-four hours had been epically chaotic. Fortunately, he had his brother's unwavering support to counter all the preceding events. He thought all would be behind him once he landed in California. Only he didn't land in California. Instead he was in a motel room in Texas gazing down into the carrier at his sleeping daughter._

* * *

_ After he'd left his home he called Anna-Marie from the parking lot of a department store nearest the airport. She had several younger siblings; she'd know what he needed. One thing about her, she didn't ask too many questions. Once he told her the baby was his she'd only shown the briefest hint of surprise. After that moment she only smirked and grabbed a shopping cart. Inside it she tossed bare essential items. He just needed to get through the flight; everything else could wait. _

_Remy tried to calm his screaming child as he watched Anna-Marie open packages: powdered formula, single use baby bottles and a liter of bottled water. She popped her gum as she meticulously measured out scoops of milk then hydrated it. Unceremoniously she handed it to him and he was grateful. He watched with relief as his daughter greedily sucked down the food. Why hadn't Reine's aunt left her with any supplies? Selfish woman. She'd even taken the carrier she brought her in. He'd had to empty a basket his mother stowed magazines in to hold her for the ride to the store._

_ Anna-Marie watched Remy stare down at his child adoringly. She never thought she'd see the day. "It's that one chick…the weird looking black chick." It wasn't a question. She smiled when he didn't answer then walked over to him and took the baby. She looked at it before laying it to her chest and began gently patting her back. "I knew you liked her but not this much."_

_ "How did you know?" he asked. _

_ She shrugged and handed him the baby after it burped and began to cry again. "Subtle things," she said as she ripped into the plastic of a small package of newborn diapers and pulled one out. Remy followed as she began to walk out of the baby section. "You noticed her," she said leaving the shopping cart then opening the door to the family restroom. _

_Once Remy was inside she let the door close and found the baby-changing table. She prepped the surface with the rough brown paper towels from the dispenser. And with gentle hands she took the baby and changed her diaper. "When she goes number two, try not to get it in her vagina. Wipe away from it," she advised. "And don't get this wet," she said pointing to the umbilical cord stump. "It'll fall off by itself in a week or two."_

_Remy let out a sigh. At that moment he felt what a monumental task he'd taken on and for the first time ever thought he wasn't up for the challenge. Maybe he should have listened to his father. Let someone else that knew what they were doing take care of her. "I don't think I can do this," he said when Anna-Marie handed her back to him._

"_You can do anything, Remy," she said. She had that admiring look in her eyes she'd give him every so often. The one that said she worshiped the ground he walked on and would do anything for him. She'd proven that on many occasions…on many nights. Usually he ignored it but this time he really needed someone to have faith in him. Remy leaned into her and kissed her, for the first time he kissed her the way she longed for him to…the way he'd kissed Reine. He felt her melt against him, careful to avoid the baby. _

_When he pulled away her eyes remained closed, savoring the lingering sensation of his lips. "Thanks for everything, Anna."_

_At the airport he'd paid the additional fee for changing his scheduled flight only to learn at the check-in counter that he'd need identification for his daughter. Identification he didn't have and didn't have a clue how to get it. But one thing he did know is that he was not going back home. He was moving forward with his plan._

_After a stop at an automatic teller, he filled up his gas tank, bought a road atlas then got on the interstate and headed west. He drove farther than he'd expected. It seemed his little girl was a quiet, sleepy passenger when she had a dry clean diaper and a full belly. It was him that grew tired and weary and opted to find a motel and food for the night._

_It had been an informative, long, tiring day and sleep was eluding him. Instead he flipped through the baby book Anna had so thoughtfully thrown into the cart. None of the information in the book penetrated through his main thought. Was he acting selfishly? Was his ego so large that he wasn't able to give his child to someone more capable of taking care of her? Hell, he'd forgotten to burp her after her last feeding and she'd vomited. What if she got sick? Fuck. He wouldn't be nineteen years old for another month! Anxiety began to set in. He wasn't ready for this._

"_I don't think I can do this," he said into his cellphone. It was the third time he'd spoken to his brother that day. The number had almost exceeded the amount of times they'd talked, texting and social networking aside, in the last year._

"_You just get here, bro. Once you get here Jeremy and I will be more than enough help for you."_

"_I don't know. I'm just like him…"_

"_You're nothing like him. He never would have done what you did. You know that, Remy," Claude said. _

_Remy sighed into the receiver of the phone. He knew his brother was right. Jean-Luc would never go out of his way to do anything for anyone else…ever, not unless it benefited him in some way. Maybe he wasn't like his father as he'd always thought. He was taking on the challenge of being a father not only for himself but for Reine too. Even though they'd only known each other for a short period of time he felt like he knew the kind of person she was…the kind of heart she had. She was perfect and he'd ruined her._

_The silence on the phone stretched almost a minute before Claude spoke again, "I can meet you somewhere. I can fly to San Antonio and help you with the rest of your trip."_

"_No, I can do it."_

"_Okay, bro, but if you need me don't hesitate to call."_

"_I won't."_

"_Kiss my niece for me. I love you," Claude said ending the call with his usual parting words._

"_I will and you too." That was Remy's customary reply…'you too.' He did love his brother but he'd never found the voice to utter that particular word to anyone._

_Remy ended the call and looked__ over at his daughter. Her eyes were open, quietly watching him. She seemed to be pondering the last twenty-four hours of her life too. Who was he? And how did she end up with him?_

"_You're my daughter," he said to her. "I'm going to take care of you." She cooed back at him and he took the sound as her acceptance. Bending, he scooped her out of her carrier and sat back onto the bed. He held her and examined her face. She looked so much like Reine…she was beautiful. "You need a name, ma chere." He wondered what Reine had named her. She would have chosen something meaningful and feminine. Remy searched his mind for conversations he'd had with his child's mother. "Sadie…after your great-grandmother. Your mother would like that I think." Sadie began to fuss. Remy gave her a tsk-tsk. "Sadie is a beautiful name. Sadie Reine LeBeau."_

* * *

"We made it to California and you know the rest of our story," Remy said and looked at his daughter.

Sadie tilted her head at Remy, "Is that all?"

"No, that's not all," his voice spiked with irritation. "I struggled with being a father. Your uncles had to help me with everything from money to childcare to trying to find your mother. And on top of all that you were almost four years old before my name was on your birth certificate and you were legally mine."

Sadie's eyes stretched in surprise of her father's outburst. "Geesh, Dad! Sorry!"

Remy exhaled running his fingers through he neatly shorn auburn hair. He was unbelievably more uncomfortable with the conversation than he'd anticipated he'd be. "It's not your fault. It's just that…it's all so complicated."

"I know but I mean, why didn't you tell me this a long time ago…about you and my mother?" Sadie clarified.

"What was I supposed to say, Sadie? How was I supposed to explain to my daughter what a bastard I was to her mother? How I'd taken advantage of a sweet innocent girl? Carelessly gotten her pregnant? Then how someone dropped you on my doorstep with a price tag?" Remy asked. He really wanted her to answer those questions. He'd asked himself those questions hundreds, if not thousands of times.

"I don't know," she responded softly. Her eyes fell to her hands in her lap. Remy leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath. He hadn't determined yet if a weight of the situation he had lifted off his shoulders. "Where is she?" With Sadie's question he realized it hadn't.

"I didn't know for a long time but I hired a private detective. The first time he looked for her he came up with nothing. But this time he found her. She's in Boston."

* * *

It had been a busy but satisfying workday. Working as a social worker in a big city's school system was a labor of love. Ororo did love it. She had the opportunity to help teens the way she'd needed someone to help her so long ago. It took her a long time to get to that point in her life but she'd done it.

Ororo smiled to herself as she made the final steps to her brownstone stoop. She'd done a lot of things in her life she regretted and this is how she would atone. Her job was one of the only few things she had to smile about.

"Hello, darlin'."

Ororo's smile instantly fell once she recognized the deep slow drawl of the voice behind her. She looked up the steps at the entrance to her home just a few feet away and briefly contemplated making a run for it. But she knew she'd never escape. Her past seemed to be hot on her heels…biting her on her ass.

She turned slowly and took in the smug bastard in front of her. Under different circumstances he would be someone whose physical appeal she could appreciate. As a matter of fact upon their initial encounter the man had piqued her interest with his masculine stature and rugged good looks. But it didn't take long for her to realize behind his soft chocolate eyes and promising smile resided a sadistic opportunist. She hated his guts.

"What in hell are you doing here, Logan? I thought we had an agreement."

"You sound like yer not happy to see me. I'm sure as hell happy to see you," he said as he leered at her body adorned in her favorite dark figure flattering skirt suit.

Ororo snorted her dismissal. "Go away, Logan. Our business is done," she said as she turned her back on him and began to ascend the steps. She felt his hand on her waist. His grip firm enough to halt her and frighten her but it was what he said that sent a shiver down her spine…

"Naw, darlin', he sent me back." He grinned when she turned back towards him. "Look like we have some more business to take care of."

* * *

End Note: Yeah. There's Logan! He's a bastard. Hell, everyone else is OOC. Why not? lol


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Thanks for the reviews and the PMs! This story would take a lot less time if I'd just write an outline but I'm flying by the seat of my pants!

Tiny Smiles

Chapter Five

Ororo slung her handbag along with her keys onto her small dinette table. Even though her gestures emitted her agitation Logan wasn't phased one bit. He closed the door behind him and sauntered past her into the room. He only smirked unaffectedly then flopped down on hercouch. He spread himself out like he owned the place and she was the guest.

"New coffee table?" he asked as he propped his booted foot on the glass table.

"We had a deal," Ororo sniped ignoring the trivial question. She stood glaring at him with her hands fisted on her hips and her eyes shooting blue steel daggers at him.

"Keyword is _had_, darlin'. Seems your ex is determined to find you. Can't say I blame him." Ororo sneered at his words. His demeanor. His ego. That lopsided grin he wore would have been enticing if it wasn't for the lecherous way his brown eyes raked over her body. He made his desires quite obvious.

Ororo's demeanor slowly changed as she dissected his words. _Remy is determined to find her. _Her Wonder Woman pose shrunk from one of power into a weakened cross-armed body hug. She had to protect herself…her daughter. She thought she had. "I told you last year I didn't want him to know where I am."

"Well," Logan stood, crossing the few feet to stand directly in front of her. "Looks like you'll have to top his offer…again." He lifted his hand and Ororo instinctively flinched. He let out a soft chuckle at her expense as he settled his fingertips on her shoulder. She watched his fingers dance down her arm. The pads of his fingers were hard and calloused. She remembered that from the last time…how rough his hands were. She gritted her teeth in an effort to keep her cool and waited for his ministrations to stop. Once he reached her elbow his hand slid over and gripped her waist.

Reluctantly, she lifted her face to meet his lecherous gaze. His handsome face was marred with smugness and lust. He bent to kiss her lips but she pushed him away as hard as she could. He stumbled back a few feet and laughed at her efforts. "Don't be that way, darlin'. I was just tryin' ta set the mood. But I can think of other ways to use those lips of yours if kissing ain't your thing." Ororo looked away from him. That's what he'd said to her the last time she'd seen him. He'd backed her against a wall and it was obviously happening again. She was ashamed of what she'd done but she didn't have any other choice. Logan didn't give her any other choice. "Don't be shy now, sweetheart. Same deal?" he asked.

"I don't have the money. I gave it all to you last time. I only have a few hundred."

"A few hundred and a blowjob ain't gonna do it, sweetheart."

"I don't have anything else."

Logan licked his chops like a hungry wolf with an unsuspecting fawn in its sights. "You got something else and don't pretend like yer above using it. I already know what you'll do with that body of yours." He pulled her into him before he finished his sentence.

She closed her eyes as he began assaulting her neck with sloppy bites and nips. All she could feel was disgust for him and the unshaven stubble of at least two days. Loathing rose from the pit of her stomach…for him…for herself. Once again she was at the mercy of a sorry excuse for a man. It seemed she couldn't avoid them. From her mother's boyfriend, to the man she thought she loved before realizing it was the drugs he'd introduced her to that held her infatuation, all the way to the abusive piece of shit she'd married.

Dammit. She couldn't let her daughter know her past…know anything about her. The last time Logan showed up on her stoop she'd had to part with her life savings, twelve thousand dollars and, as Logan called it, "a courtesy blow". He'd insisted.

"Come on, darling," Logan said huskily into her ear as he dug his meaty fingers into her waist. "Don't be so stiff. This time we'll be even."

Ororo exhaled her defeat as unshed tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them surface. She'd hoped to never find herself in this situation again…having her body at a man's mercy but here she was again. Logan was right. She wasn't above using her body to get her way, to get her food, to get her drug. She thought she'd left those times behind her. It was those years she could never let her daughter find out about.

"You have to promise me you'll end this. He won't come looking for me again."

"Yeah, yeah…anything you say, darlin'," Logan said dismissively as he uncovered her skin.

"Promise," she said firmer.

"Naw, darlin', after this you won't ever have to worry about me again."

She closed her eyes tight choosing to deal with the situation the only way she knew how…pretend she wasn't there.

* * *

_Reine hesitantly entered the tiny apartment. It was a decent place. Her mother had done a good job of decorating the small space even if it was with artificial flowers and doilies. Reine could see her grandmother's influences. A large framed picture of Jesus hung on the largest wall in the room. Underneath was a golden velveteen couch. On the other side of the room was a TV on a stand along with a small radio and above the TV an ornate gold analog wallclock. The only other chairs in the space were at the yellow Formica table in a small dining area. Reine could see the kitchen just beyond an opening. And she assumed the other door was to her mother's bedroom._

"_The bathroom is through my room. But don't go in there. Julian is sleeping. He has to go to work in a few hours. And I've already missed two hours of work picking you up from the station."_

"_Julian?" Reine asked perplexed._

"_My boyfriend. He know you coming. But I gotta go. Introduce yourself when he wake up."_

"_Okay, mama."_

"_Wait a minute, girl. Let's get this straight right now. My name is N'Dare. I'm too young to be anybody's mama. All right?" N'Dare looked at Reine expectantly then continued when she'd nodded the appropriate response. "I only got one room so you sleep on the couch. I'll make some room somewhere for your stuff," she said. She looked at Reine with a sour expression and shook her head. "I can't believe you done put me in this situation."_

"_I'm sorry, mama…N'Dare."_

"_You sorry all right. I gotta go. Don't eat all the food. Julian gotta eat first."_

_With those words N'Dare was out the door and Reine was left alone in a strange city in a strange place with a strange man in the next room. Hot tears flooded her eyes. Even though she fought to keep them from falling she failed miserably. She missed her grandmother but more than that she missed her baby. Sadie Meriwether wasn't coming back but her daughter was out there somewhere._

_Reine gingerly rubbed her hand over the fabric of the shift dress feeling her protruding belly, the only evidence left of the last nine months. She still looked as if she could be at least six months pregnant but there was no baby in there. She was gone…taken only God and maybe her mama knew where. Reine slid her hand down lower. The wound from which her daughter was pulled still ached but the pain was nothing in comparison to the pain her heart endured. She wished she'd died on that operating table. Death would have been a better existence than the one she found herself living in._

* * *

_Reine woke abruptly. Between her legs she felt the overflowing bloody wetness of her body expelling the remnants of her pregnancy. It had been hours since she'd changed the bulky pad in the bus station bathroom while waiting for her mother. Reine was on the verge of panic when the bedroom door suddenly opened. A very handsome man stood at the threshold. His bare chest revealed a creamy café au lait complexion and a toned torso, his black wavy hair still damp from a recent shower._

_Initially he wore an expression of surprise that quickly settled into one of realization. "You must be Dare's daughter," he said in a slightly accented baritone. _

_Reine looked away and waited for him to slip on the t-shirt he'd been holding before responding. "Yes. I'm Reine."_

"_Julian," he said as he gave her a once over. Reine's eyes dropped to the floor once again. The way he looked at her made her uncomfortable. "I thought you already had the baby."_

_Her hand automatically ran over her belly. "I did." A brief moment of silence passed between them when she didn't offer more information before she found her voice again. "May I please use the bathroom?"_

_Julian stepped to the side and gestured inside the bedroom. Reine grabbed her bag and slipped through the narrow passage he gave her. She hurried into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. It was a small space but big enough for her to feel relieved in its solace. She heaved a heavy sigh and sagged against the door. Everything was so different. Her life a year ago wasn't perfect but she was happy. _

_She still had another year of school. She didn't complete her senior year. Her aunt pulled her out of school as soon as it was revealed she was pregnant. Reine kept the secret as long as she could but there came a point when she could no longer hide. Everyday after that her name ceased to be Reine. Instead her aunt opted for "whore" or "slut". Her mother's younger sister had found Jesus a few years earlier and had conveniently forgotten she'd birthed six children with multiple men out of wedlock. Nevertheless, Reine would not bring shame on her. Instead of school she was hidden away…cooking, cleaning and taking care of her younger cousins. She did everything that needed to be done even though her aunt didn't work. She was told it was punishment for getting knocked up. _"If you want to do grown woman things, you can live a grown woman's life," _her aunt had said. _

_Reine took care of her business in the bathroom then cracked open the door for a quick peek out. No one was in the bedroom. The television in the front room had been turned on. She eased out the door and crept into the living room. Her mouth watered from the scent of heated food wafting from the kitchen. She'd only eaten a candy bar at one of the depot stops hours ago._

"_Aye chica," Julian called to her. "You want some of this?" he asked nodding towards the fried chicken on the plate. Just looking at it made Reine's stomach cramp and ache for it._

"_Yes, thank you." She wanted to run to the table but she managed to control her the urge. Julian tore off a napkin and placed it in front of the chair Reine had pulled out to sit in._

"_Here's some collard greens and potato salad," he said as he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a yellow Tupperware container. "I usually take it to work then throw it out. Your momma can't cook for shit," he smiled conspiratorially. "But you might like it."_

_Reine smiled back but only to be polite. "Thank you. I'll give it a try." At that moment she didn't care how horrible her mother's cooking tasted; she was starving. Julian was right. N'Dare was a terrible cook. How she'd grown up in her grandmother's house and couldn't cook was beyond Reine. "Well…the chicken's good."_

"_Si. I cooked that." They both laughed._

_Reine felt her body relax. Julian is nice she decided._

* * *

_Reine settled into an uncomfortable routine in New York: work for ten plus hours six days a week, come home, make dinner, bathe then sleep. She lived in what was called a borough…Queens in the Corona neighborhood. She wanted to start school immediately but her mother said she had to find a job and pay some bills if she was going to live with her. Reine wanted to point out how Julian spent most of his time in the apartment but he wasn't paying any bills. _

_He'd sleepover at least four nights out of the week. Reine didn't mind. They'd bonded over the bitchiness of N'Dare. He'd helped her get a job at the mother of one of his friend's bodega. The only thing she didn't like about him was on his days off and sometimes days on he'd smoke marijuana. The musky odor got into her clothes and clung to her hair. She suspected he sold the drug too. People who he'd introduce as his "friends" were constantly dropping by. They'd stand on the stoop and talk or he'd take them into the bedroom for a few minutes then they'd leave._

_Reine and her mother rarely had a day off from work on the same days. Reine preferred it that way. But today was one of those rare days and N'Dare had been on her back since the sun had risen. Her mother nitpicked every thing she did, from the way she folded the towels to the way she'd swept the floor. Reine was happy when all of the chores were finally done. Now they sat quietly watching a movie on television. An action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenneger Reine had never seen before and was having a hard time following. Julian walked through the front door and headed directly to the bedroom. He didn't speak to N'Dare or she to him. Reine assumed they'd had a fight. They seemed to do that a lot._

_Lingering in the doorway was on of Julian's "friends", a tall good-looking man. He had to be in his early twenties. Dark denim jeans, a black v-neck t-shirt adorned his lean muscular body and on his feet were heavy brown work boots that looked as if they'd never been off of asphalt. His skin a flawless brown, the color of honey sweetened tea and his soft doe eyes shone bright. He smiled at Reine revealing perfect white teeth behind full lips. _

"_What's up?" The brief question was addressed to both women but his eyes were only on Reine._

_N'Dare responded with a dry "Hey". Reine gave a small shy smile then trained her eyes back to the television screen. She tried to ignore him but she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her. She dared a quick glance. Yes, he was completely focused on her. A slight smile graced his handsome face. Like he knew something about her no one else knew._

_Julian entered and exited the bedroom quickly. "Later," he threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door past his friend sure that he'd be following behind but he didn't._

"_What's your name, girl?" His tone was cocky. The smile he wore didn't falter when both she and N'Dare stared at him, neither responded._

_Julian's head popped back into view even though he still stood on the stoop. "Come on, man." _

"_Julian, who's the girl?"_

_Julian looked at Reine then responded. "Who? Reine? That's my old lady's daughter."_

"_She is fine," he said to Julian, licking his lips after he'd finished his statement._

"_Yeah, she is. Can cook too," Julian grinned._

"_Damn, girl…I need to get to know you," he said addressing Reine again._

"_You ain't getting to know anybody," N'Dare finally responded to him through gritted teeth but her gaze was locked on Julian, "but you both can get out of my house."_

_Julian's friend let out a clipped chuckle. "All right. All right," he said to N'Dare then addressed Reine, "I'll see ya 'round, shorty."_

_After the two men were gone Reine tried to focus on the television once again but she felt the ire radiating from her mother. _

_She felt her mother's eyes on her. N'Dare had been increasingly hostile towards her in the last couple of months. The baby weight was finally gone but it left a curvaceous woman with full breast, a small waist and shapely hips. The discoloration of her skin had faded revealing her perfect pre-pregnancy complexion. Yet her mother found ways to criticize her appearance…from her "white girl witch hair" to her "busted" feet._

"_You think you something, don't you?" N'Dare sneered. "You ain't shit." Reine looked at her with stretched eyes. Her mother stood from the couch and went into her bedroom and shut the door with a hard slam._

* * *

Remy read over the words for what seemed like the hundredth time. They hadn't change and neither had his disbelief. Ororo Munroe wasn't the Reine he knew. The sheets of court records Logan had sent him were thick. The offenses ranged from fraudulent checks and petty theft to drug possession and prostitution. At first he didn't believe it was true but the mug shots were undeniable. Photos transformed from a frightened teary eighteen year old into an indifferent twenty-something with vacant eyes.

Remy threw the papers back onto his desk. He reclined back into his chair steepling his fingers in front of his lips. He would have never said Reine's life was ideal but he certainly couldn't have foreseen the direction her life had taken. What happened to the sweet girl he once knew? He'd ruined her. In the back of his mind he'd always thought that but when Logan delivered the package of his findings he knew it for sure. How could he ever face her?


End file.
